Back off, Crystal, he's mine!

Oh Crystal! We missed you there for awhile!! She's TOTALLY BACK!

Best to Worst:

Crystal! In a season where the lyrics of songs have been put in the spotlight (bringing a tank onto stage, anyone?), I'm Alright was, in my opinion, Crystal's way of letting America know that she's NOT a "Contestant", and she's happy no matter what. And, man, I love that magical bong microphone stand.

Casey - Not since Kristy Lee Cook sang God Bless the USA has a contestant pandered to their fan base more. For that reason alone, I'm putting Casey's Mrs. Robinson in the #2 spot. Well played, Casey. (And seducing Jamie Foxx, too? You just can't catch a break, can you?)

Lee - Why DID you pick Kiss From A Rose, Lee? Weird. It wasn't bad, it was just ... weird. And, in all honestly, Lee's been "pitchy" from day 1. We overlook it, because he's talented and, well, he's HOT. But last night highlighted the pitchy too much for me to overlook.

Mike - The only good thing about Will You Be There was the choir walking down the stairs. In fact, I could have done with JUST them. Favorite scene of the night: Big Mike pushing the "Contestant" T-shirt back at Jamie Foxx - there's the egotistical contestant we all know.

Duets:

Falling Slowly - Okay, I'll be honest here: I know that contestants can't "own" songs on this show. But this song will ALWAYS, in my mind, be the one that launched Kris Allen from "who?" to "winner!". And every performance of it forever and ever should be compared to that one. Now that that's out of the way: Wow! I'm not sure if I loved the song more, or the connection between Lee and Crystal - you could reach out and touch the mutual respect, and love for one another - and THAT made the whole performance. I think I have a musical crush on BOTH Lee and Crystal.

Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman - WE GET IT! You 2 like women! You see unborn children in their eyes! You're romantic, and suave, blah, blah, blah. Also: Guitar copycats.

Going home ... finally - Big Mike. Because a "goal" of Winner was just too obvious.